An edited transcript of the conversation between former A's and Giants pitcher Vida Blue and KNBR's Ray Woodson.

Woodson: A no-hitter for Tim Lincecum ... his second against the Padres in the last year. Does this surprise you at all given what he's been doing of late? Or do you get the feeling with Lincecum that you just don't know what you're going to get, and if he's on with two or three pitches he can do this?

Blue: Yeah, I agree with that, Ray. We talk about how if he gets through the first inning, it could be lights-out for the opposing team. Once he goes 1-2-3 in that first inning, he kind of settles himself down. No-hitters, I don't know if you call them luck, but at times when I have at least two pitches working, I have a chance to be very dominant, and if I have three pitches working, it means there's a chance that you aren't going to get very many hits and won't score. But if I have four pitches working, that means it's gonna be a looong day for hitters.

Woodson: Does it make me a bad person to think that even though he was on, it doesn't necessarily say anything for the future? I want to see more consistency out of him.

Blue: Oh, absolutely - it doesn't mean that he's "back." On any given day, you can go out there and dominate an offensive lineup; if he has four pitches working, you have no chance in hell!

Woodson: We were noticing that Hector Sanchez was mixing it up with the calls early in the game, especially in the first inning, so you would know right away whether he had a feel for those pitches. He wasn't falling in love with the fastball.

Blue: Oh, absolutely. A lot of times, as a pitcher, I would have the last say-so as to what pitch was going to be thrown. (Manager Bruce) Bochy can flag something to Sanchez or (Buster) Posey, but I have the last say-so on that pitch. But a lot of times, if all of a sudden we go through the lineup without giving up anything, I'm just gonna go out and not shake this guy off - unless he tells me to shake him off to mix up the pitches and make the hitter think we're throwing something else. You get into that rhythm, or the groove as we like to call it, and a lot of times you just go with the flow. It takes a pretty cool catcher to get back there and call a game knowing that you have a no-hitter, and to sort of have a mental wire from me to you, to say, "OK, we got this, I know you can throw this pitch right here, right now." You do it, and you start to believe in yourself. Confidence is the most defining factor when you pitch a no-hitter - "I have confidence that I can throw a 3-2 curveball." Plus, once you walk a hitter - once you lose that first batter by walk or error - your perfecto is gone, so why not throw a 3-2 curveball or a 3-2 slider if you have to. You've lost the perfect game, but you're still trying to pitch a no-hitter or at least keep the shutout alive.

Woodson: Yeah, and he pitched to contact - really didn't have a stressful inning throughout the day.

Blue: Yeah, obviously Timmy has won back-to-back Cy Youngs. He set the bar pretty high. He might have been trying to live up to that the past couple years, but now he's just relaxed. A la Michelle Wie just going out there and enjoying being a golfer - just go out there and enjoy being a major-league pitcher. Use your ability to your advantage, get into yourself and have a clue what you're doing out there.